Bicycle racks for cars are well known. Typically, a car mountable rack includes a support system of complex construction that is time consuming to attach. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,102 to Tolson describes a carrier which is mounted to a receiver which has a car attachment plate mounted behind a license plate using the license plate mounting holes. A shelf extends from the plate behind the license. The shelf in turn is provided with a hollow conduit into which an elongate post of the carrier is inserted. The shelf structure has reinforcement bars and foot plates for seating of the shelf on a car bumper. A carrier rack is described requiring a stabilizer bracket and special rod mountings for a bike that make the carrier complicated to install and assemble and not necessarily strong and stable in use.
Other bike carriers are described and shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,411,461; 4,884,728; 5,004,133; and 5,169,042. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,105 a bike carrier for a front bumper is shown using a mounting plate that fits the license plate mounting holes at the front bumper.